The Hindu Business Line : Central Bank launches pre-paid gift card

Mr S. Sridhar, CMD, Central Bank of India (left), with Mr G.C. Chaturvedi, Additional Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, at the launch of pre-paid gift cards, in the Capital on Monday.

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New Delhi, Oct. 12 Central Bank of India is targeting a credit growth of 20 per cent for the year and a deposit growth of 23 per cent, said Mr S. Sridhar, its Chairman and Managing Director.

He added that as of September, the bank is expected to have an annual credit growth of 18 per cent.

“There has been some growth in September and we hope it is carried forward to October and November,” said Mr Sridhar.

The bank announced the launch of a pre-paid gift card on Monday, which can be pre-loaded only once with any value between Rs 500 and Rs 50,000 and will be sold only at select branches.

The pre-paid gift card, which was released by Mr G.C. Chaturvedi, Additional Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, will be accepted by all retail stores across India displaying the Mastercard signage.

It can also be used for online and Mail Order Telephone Order (MOTO) transactions, said the bank.

Other features of the card include the ability to check the card balance through the Internet or mobile phone.

Moreover, the card would come encased in a secured envelope, while the card number and details will not even be known to the branch selling the card, said the bank. The bank added that there will also be a dedicated Web site for the gift card.

Mr Sridhar further added that the bank would now focus more on retail clients as well as development of rural banking.

“For the last few years we have focused on the corporate space and have not partnered with the retail growth in India. This prepaid card signifies the re-entry of the bank into the retail space,” he said.

He added that the bank is also working on a mobile banking platform that would take a few more months to become operational.

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Central Bank launches pre-paid gift card